The Polar Bear Club
by lepetitfromage
Summary: When they began swim lessons at age four, Alfred was only concerned with achieving the biggest cannonball splash while Matthew only wanted to swim like the polar bears. He would achieve his goal years later on the beach in Vancouver, surrounded by two thousand people, on New Year's Day, with his brother by his side. - FACE family


Matthew had gone swimming before. It was more accurate to say that he'd been in the water before, but he'd never been able to swim by himself; always held by either of his fathers. And he'd been okay with that. His brother, Alfred, was always a little bolder. He had a tendency to jump away from their fathers, claiming he could swim. It was apparent, when Alfred slipped through Arthur's hands on one occasion, that he could not.

It was at that moment that Francis Bonnefoy and Arthur Kirkland decided that perhaps their boys should learn how to properly swim.

Alfred and Matthew were four years old and the fathers figured it was the perfect age to start. Alfred was indifferent, still in denial about his lack of swimming skills, but easily motivated upon hearing about the pool they were going to. Matthew didn't quite understand at first. He was content being held in the water by his papa but after some explanation agreed to the lessons.

Alfred and Matthew were also promised a vacation to someplace they could do lots of swimming if they made considerable progress by the end of the summer. That was the final motivator for Matthew.

Now, Matthew sat next to his papa on a bench inside the indoor pool. He wore red swim trunks. Alfred wore blue. His brother, being the more excitable of them, was already in the shallow, roped off area designated as a free swim area for the kids. His father crouched at the edge of the pool, watching Alfred dunk himself and grip the wall.

"It's almost your turn, _cher,_" his papa said. Matthew was hugging his stuffed polar bear in his lap, his feet kicking back and forth off the ground. His papa's voice pulled him out of daydreaming.

"What if I can't swim?" Matthew asked, flipping the bear's paw.

Papa's arm came around his shoulders and he said, "That's why you're here to learn. But you have to try your best, _oui?_"

"_Oui_," Matthew agreed. "I will."

His papa smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of his head.

He heard his name called, and Matthew's eyes fell on a woman with her arms folded over the edge of the pool, long brown hair piled on top of her head, and a wide smile. He took his papa's hand as he walked Matthew over to her.

"Hello, Matthew," she said. "My name is Eliza. Are you ready?"

Matthew nodded shyly.

Eliza laughed and said, "Do you think your bear wants to sit this one out and watch you?"

He belatedly realized he was still holding Kuma. Papa took Kuma in exchange for his pair of goggles and crouched next to him.

"He's never had a lesson, but we've been in the water before so he should be fine," his papa told Eliza.

"Great!" Eliza said. "We're going to have fun today, okay?"

Matthew nodded again. At Eliza's instruction he sat at the edge, feet in the water while she helped him put on his goggles. She then plucked him from the wall and held him in the water.

"What's your bear's name?" she asked him.

"Kuma," he said. "He's a polar bear."

"Polar bears like to swim, don't they?"

If there was one topic Matthew could go on endlessly about, it was polar bears. He finally had someone new to talk about them with. He nodded, eyes alight with knowledge. "Yeah, they swim really well, but they can't swim forever so they go on land. They can also hold their breath really long too."

Eliza grinned and leaned into him conspiratorially. "Do you think _you_ can swim like a polar bear?"

Matthew couldn't help the smile blossoming on his face. He suddenly wanted nothing more than to swim like a polar bear.

"Mattie!" he heard a familiar voice shout.

Sure enough, there was Alfred, eyes wide behind goggles and his blond hair wet and sticking up in every direction. The man with his arm hooked around Alfred laughed loudly.

Matthew stared at the man's hair. It was almost white.

"And who are you?" Eliza asked his brother.

"I'm Alfred. Mattie's my brother. Look what I can do!" Alfred promptly launched himself into the air and splashed his instructor.

"Whoa there!" the man said. "Let's put some of that energy into swimming!"

Alfred screeched with glee as he was lifted over the man's head like an airplane. Matthew giggled, clutching Eliza's arms a little tighter.

"Alright," she said. "Let me see your polar bear kicks."

In his own reserved way, Matthew was ecstatic.

.

Francis watched Matthew talk with Eliza. He hadn't been worried, per se, about Matthew's confidence; his son may have been quieter than his twin, but he was also determined. Eliza seemed to be a good fit for him. Just as his long-time friend, Gilbert, seemed to be a good fit for Alfred. It was their reason for coming to this pool – Gilbert was co-owner of the pool with his grandfather and he was the first person Francis consulted.

"Are you sure that fool knows what he's doing?" he heard his husband, Arthur, grumble as he sat next to Francis. Arthur sat where Kuma had been sitting, holding the bear in his lap for Matthew.

"Gilbert's the only one who could tire him out," he said.

Arthur made a noise of agreement. "There is that." He watched Alfred climb out of the pool and proceed to perform a most spectacular belly flop, wincing as the slapping sound echoed. "That boy," he breathed.

Francis laughed, grabbing Arthur's hand and lacing their fingers together. Arthur squeezed his automatically.

"How was Matthew?" Arthur asked.

Both turned their attention to Matthew and Eliza, who was holding him while he floated on his back.

"Shy, like usual," Francis said. Arthur hummed and he recognized the look in his eyes. It made Francis's lips quirk up. Arthur liked to appear as if nothing fazed him, cool and often serious, but he could worry more than a mother hen. Francis knew it, Arthur denied it. "But they got on the topic of polar bears, so I wouldn't worry."

Arthur laughed at last. "Oh dear, she's going to get an earful."

Some time later, the boys' lessons were over and Matthew was climbing out of the pool.

"Daddy! Papa! Guess what!" Matthew had a soft voice, but when he was excited he had an eagerness that could match Alfred's.

Arthur wrapped him up in a towel while Matthew chattered.

"Miss Eliza said I'm in the polar bear club now!"

Arthur raised his brows, looking impressed. "Really, now? And what is that?"

"I can hold my breath for eight seconds and now I'm in the polar bear club!"

Arthur gasped. "That's excellent, lad!"

"And- and Miss Eliza said that I'm a little polar bear but if I can hold my breath for _ten_ seconds then I'm a big polar bear."

Arthur praised him and moved to the side to speak more with Eliza.

Francis had gone over to Gilbert and Alfred. Before letting him out of the pool, Gilbert whispered something in Alfred's ear that had the boy grinning and scrambling out of the pool.

Alfred launched himself at Francis, giving him a huge wet hug. Francis cringed while the other two laughed.

"Thank you, Alfred," he said, shooting a look at Gilbert who grinned smugly. "You know who loves wet hugs? Your dad."

Alfred shouted, blue eyes glowing with mischief. He raced up to Arthur and flung his arms around his leg. Francis stifled a laugh as Arthur expressed the same grimace and an "Alfred, you're soaking wet. How nice."

He also wrapped Alfred in a towel and Francis turned to Gilbert. Gilbert hoisted himself out of the water and shook out his hair.

"That kid's a ball of energy, but I don't think you needed me to tell you."

"Certainly not. We promised them a trip if they learned."

"Hey!" Gilbert slapped a wet hand to Francis's shoulder. Francis frowned. "Take me with you!"

"Nice try."

"Francis," Arthur called, the two boys in towels on either side of him. "Let's go."

"We'll see you in a couple days, Gilbert."

Gilbert saluted them and jumped back into the pool.

The boys were buzzing with conversation on the car ride home; remarks from Alfred in particular.

"Mattie got to be in the polar bear club?" Alfred said, almost whining. "How come no one told me?"

"I can tell Miss Eliza to get you in next time," Matthew said, playing with Kuma's paw.

"Yes! Please, Mattie, please," he begged, bouncing in his seat. "Oh! Daddy, Papa, Gil said I'm the best floater he's ever seen!"

"That's great," Arthur said. "And did you have your listening ears on?"

"Yes, I did."

"The whole time?" Arthur clarified, raising an eyebrow at him in the rearview mirror.

"_Yes_, Daddy."

Arthur smiled.

As the month progressed so had the boys. The family was becoming quite popular at the pool. Soon, Alfred and Matthew were making friends and so were Francis and Arthur.

There were the Vargas boys brought by their grandfather; Lovino one year older than Feliciano. Feliciano was a happy boy who got along with all the instructors. Lovino was generally grumpier, and refused to swim with anyone but the instructor, Antonio.

Gilbert's little brother, Ludwig, came sometimes. He was a silent and self-sufficient boy, but somehow had befriended Feliciano. Ludwig was eight, three years older than Feli, but he still let him tag along behind him.

Katerina was a young Ukrainian woman, eighteen years old, who brought her younger siblings, Ivan and Natalya. Ivan was big for his age and a little shy, but Matthew found him easy to talk to and often sat at the edge of the pool with him while the more rambunctious kids swam. Because of this, Arthur and Francis talked often with Katerina, who was modest but seemed glad for the conversation. Ivan's little sister, Natalya was a cute girl in a blue swimsuit with a ruffled skirt. When she wasn't in her lesson, she was sitting with Ivan. Matthew wasn't too sure about her – she was sternly quiet with serious eyes – but as long as she didn't scare him, he was fine talking to her too.

Berwald and Tino were another couple. Their son, Peter, was just as energetic as Alfred and had an interesting habit of calling Tino "Mum." When Arthur heard that Peter had been adopted from England, he had subsequently befriended Berwald and Tino, though the latter did most of the talking between the two of them.

Matthew's progress throughout the summer was steady and precise. Alfred's was more disjointed, but by the end of the summer they were racing each other in crawl stroke and diving for toys. Alfred joined the polar bear club and Matthew found the joy in cannonballs. Arthur and Francis got used to the wet hugs and made good on their promise for a water themed vacation.

* * *

><p>Matthew tied his blond hair back into a stubby ponytail and snapped a swim cap over his head. Next to him, Alfred shook out his arms and stretched his shoulders.<p>

Matthew wore red. Alfred wore blue.

It was New Year's Day on English Bay Beach in Vancouver. The beach was packed with over two thousand people for the Vancouver Polar Bear Swim. Matthew and Alfred were participating in the 100-yard race for the fifth year in a row. They hadn't placed yet, but this year they intended to. After all, this was the moment Matthew had been preparing for since he was four.

They stood amongst the dozens of other swimmers, waiting for the call.

_3_

Matthew leaned forward, prepared to enter the water.

_2_

Alfred flashed a grin at him. Matthew smirked.

_1_

The cold air pricked at their skin, but they didn't feel it.

A siren blared and the swimmers shot off the beach, entering the water and pushing themselves toward the buoy and lifeguard 100 yards away.

Matthew and Alfred, being similar in many things, swam neck-in-neck. They took these challenges as good-natured competitions between the two of them. So Matthew pushed that extra bit more.

The two of them trained together for the races every year since they were eighteen starting in October, supporting and provoking each other in harmony.

So when Matthew touched the buoy first, and Alfred a split second after him, Alfred let out a whoop and threw his arm around his brother's shoulders.

.

The beach was churning with people in various states of dress, from bikinis to full costumes of every kind. Francis watched in shock as a trio of men ran by in little more than sombreros and speedos. He crossed his arms over his chest, partly to keep himself warm and partly to keep from accidentally touching any other bodies.

Francis was bundled in a parka, scarf, gloves, and earmuffs. There was cold, and then there was standing-on-a-beach-on-New-Year's-Day cold. Francis was taking full advantage of the hot coffee served to the swim participants that day.

Arthur, on the other hand…

Francis did wonder sometimes.

Arthur ran up the beach to Francis, soaking wet from his romp in the water. He was half naked, dressed in swim trunks and a tricorn pirate hat sporting a huge, emerald plume feather. Francis wished that was all, but Arthur had painted the Union Jack over his chest and arms.

"Arthur, _mon amour_, are you quite alright?" he asked his husband.

Arthur had a wild look to his eye. He was panting, teeth chattering, and shouting every word.

"'Course I am!" he said with a devilish grin that complemented the pirate hat he wore. "That's bloody invigorating," he said, jerking a thumb toward the water and the costumed beach-goers still playing.

A group of men with Union Jack-painted faces bounded by, whooping and hollering. They shook Arthur's shoulders as they passed and Arthur yelled, "Rule Britannia!"

Francis cringed and held out Arthur's parka. "Please put this on, _cher_."

Arthur planted his hands on his hips. "Why? I'm having a blast!"

Francis sighed. At that moment Matthew and Alfred approached, arms slung around each other, laughing.

Matthew wore a Canadian flag like a cape over his parka and swim shorts, and Alfred wore an American flag. However, both of them seemed to disregard their wet hair and lack of any other clothing.

His family was going to give him gray hairs, something he didn't need at this point in his life.

"How did you do boys?" Arthur asked them.

"Mattie won first place!" Alfred exclaimed.

Now that the competition was over, Matthew ducked his face in modesty. "Al won second, too."

"And, uh, Dad," Alfred said warily, looking Arthur up and down, "How are you doing?"

"Bloody fantastic. Why is everyone so bothered?"

Matthew snickered and accepted a congratulatory hug from his papa.

Francis may have been run ragged by his family on occasion, but for the five years they'd been coming to the annual swim his favorite part was nursing his men back to health in the following days.

Sick with colds, the three of them bundled on the couch eating Francis's homemade soup simply warmed his heart.

* * *

><p><strong>I work at a pool and I swim with a little boy who is the spitting image of a baby Canada. I realized, why hadn't I thought of this sooner? <strong>

**I also have many weaknesses, two of which are fluffy FACE family and APH Kiddos. **

**Hope you enjoyed this quick one! Many thanks!**


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